Pacquiao concerned, wants to visit Yolanda victims

Hall of fame boxing trainer Freddie Roach said Manny Pacquiao would have made a quick trip to Leyte and personally help the victims of typhoon Yolanda if he could. Roach said his ward is concerned about the plight of survivors in Leyte.

“He is concerned about it yes, very much,” the boxing trainer said as quoted by the Telegraph.

“He told me he wanted to go down on Sunday but it’s too close to the fight for him to take any time off and we talked about that. He is focused on the fight still but obviously it is a big distraction because it killed all of those people.” Pacquiao is deep in training at his camp in General Santos City as he prepares for his much awaited comeback against brash young fighter Brandon Rios. The fight takes place at the Cotai Arena in Macau next Sunday.

The fight serves as Pacquiao’s ticket to redemption following his shocking loss to Juan Manuel Marquez. Roach said the fight meant something more to the fighting congressman given the situation in Visayas.

“He knows it’s a must-win situation and it’s bigger than that because he has to win for the country also, not just his boxing career, he knows he has to win for the people,” said the coach.